Bitte wählen Sie Ihre Region und Ihr Land.

Emil Jellinek & his daughter Mercedes.

Emil Jellinek and his daughter Mercedes

The time in Europe and North Africa.

Emil Jellinek was born in Leipzig on April 6, 1853. He gave his parents little joy during his school years – he was given private lessons for several years, and later no school could keep him for long. Emil Jellinek resisted any compulsion to learn. At the age of 17 he was employed as an official by the North-West Rotkosteletz railway company, but left this employment only two years later. Emil Jellinek now made his way to France, and was then called to Tangiers by the Austro-Hungarian Consul. One year later he went to Tetuan as a consular agent, married a French woman and established himself as a successful trader in North African products.

In 1881 Jellinek returned to Vienna, where he managed the agency of an insurance company and became an inspector. He then followed the call to North Africa again, and his two sons Adolph and Fernand were born in Algiers. In 1889 Emil Jellinek returned to live in Vienna with his family.

Emil Jellinek was born in Leipzig on April 6, 1853. He gave his parents little joy during his school years – he was given private lessons for several years, and later no school could keep him for long. Emil Jellinek resisted any compulsion to learn.
At the age of 17 he was employed as an official by the North-West Rotkosteletz railway company, but left this employment only two years later.
Emil Jellinek now made his way to France, and was then called to Tangiers by the Austro-Hungarian Consul. One year later he went to Tetuan as a consular agent, married a French woman and established himself as a successful trader in North African products.
In 1881 Jellinek returned to Vienna, where he managed the agency of an insurance company and became an inspector. He then followed the call to North Africa again, and his two sons Adolph and Fernand were born in Algiers. In 1889 Emil Jellinek returned to live in Vienna with his family.

In April 1900 the pseudonym 'Mercedes' became a product name. Jellinek and DMG concluded an agreement covering the sale of vehicles and engines, also agreeing to develop a new form of engine which would bear 'the name Daimler-Mercedes'. About two weeks later Jellinek ordered 36 vehicles for a total price of 550,000 Marks – roughly three million euros according to today’s value. This was a very large order by any standards. A few weeks later he ordered a further 36 vehicles, all with eight-horsepower engines. On December 22, 1900, DMG delivered the first car equipped with the new engine to Jellinek, a 35 hp racing car. This first Mercedes, which was developed by DMG’s Chief Engineer Wilhelm Maybach, caused a sensation as the new century began. With its low centre of gravity, pressed steel frame, lightweight yet powerful engine and honeycomb radiator it is now acknowledged as the first modern automobile. The Nice Week in March 1901, during which the Mercedes racing cars proved practically unbeatable in almost every discipline, helped to make Jellinek and the brand name extremely well-known. The 12/16 hp and 8/11 hp sister models appeared in March and August 1901. Thanks to Jellinek’s further orders, the production capacity of the Daimler factory in Cannstatt was stretched to the limit.

On June 23, 1902 'Mercedes' was registered as a brand name, and legally protected on September 26.
In June 1903 Emil Jellinek obtained permission to call himself Jellinek-Mercedes in future. 'This is probably the first time a father has borne the name of his daughter,' the successful businessman remarked at the time.
In 1907 Jellinek was appointed Austro-Hungarian Consul General, becoming Mexican Consul shortly afterwards. In 1909 Jellinek withdrew from the automotive business and devoted himself to his duties as head of the Austro-Hungarian consulate in Monaco. Until his death on January 21, 1918 Emil Jellinek remained an interested observer of automotive engineering.